Just in from Tom Fish, Voodoo Child 41LN23 -- Making an Engine Bed

Before work
 began.

Here's why Tom Fish, Voodoo Child 41LN23, replaced his engine beds (excerpted from a 23 July '14 email).

The old engine beds needed to be reworked for several reasons. A previous owner had modified the height apparently to allow for a new offset transmission to match the height of the stern tube. And, for some reason, the centerline between the engine beds did not line up with the stern tube either.

Also, there was a small amount of rotten wood coring beneath the fiberglass layer of the starboard engine bed which probably occurred due to the previous modification.

The Beta Marine 60 engine is narrower than the old BMW. The Beta also needed to sit lower for the shaft to line up with the stern tube and it needed the engine beds closer together (or thickened toward midline of the vessel) for the mounts to reach.

The new engine bed.

 We considered fabricating custom brackets to reach the old beds but due to the shape of the engine block there was not enough clearance to turn brackets down and then midline again and we knew we had to rebuild the beds anyway due to the rotten core.

What we ended up doing was cutting about 2 inches off the height of the beds which got us down to solid wood and put us just below the height needed for the Beta. Then we thickened the beds inward toward midline by lag bolting and epoxying thick beams of mahogany. This was all then glassed in with epoxy including over the tops. Finally, 1/2 inch thick stainless steel plates were lagged down using 3M 4200 in and around the pre-drilled screw holes.

An advantage of using the stainless steel plates on top of the glass was the ease of sliding the engine around during installation and alignment. They also protect the new beds from future rot.

All done and lookin 

The Beta engine mounts will only allow for a small amount of adjustment during engine alignment so the most difficult part of the project was predicting the final trajectory of the transmission shaft during these major modifications. We used an engine mockup with fore and aft centering holes and a laser pointer that was centered and shot thru a new cutlass bearing from outside the hull. End result was accuracy within a millimeter with the motor mounts at mid-adjustment. I think we got really lucky. Surprisingly, Beta engine mounts only allow about 7mm of height adjustment which, at mid-adjustment, translates to only 3.5mm up or down. 

Just in from Pleiades 35LN22 -- Hesiod

And if longing seizes you for sailing the stormy seas, when the Pleiades flee mighty Orion and plunge into the misty deep and all the gusty winds are raging, then do not keep your ship on the wine-dark sea but, as I bid you, remember to work the land.   --Hesiod

Lani Hart's Matrix of LNs and LNVTs made by Date and Type

Source: Hart, Lani, The Victory Tug Story, December 2010, .

Papiola II Survives Hurricane Sandy

Back to sailing after Sandy

35 LN 14 Papiola II is back in the water and looking mighty fine after hurricane Sandy.  According to her owner Carlos Nunez, "All cosmetic, but yeah, it was extensive... bowsprit, rail, hull paint etc. but I was able to sail her to the yard that did the repairs, never took water inside and the mast was still standing...so very strong, you can depend on these boats."

(Editor's note: Excerpted from 10/16/2013 post on Lord Nelson Yacht Owner's FB)

YouTube of Free Spirit 35LN27

YouTube of Voodoo Child 41LN23 sailing off Pensacola, FL

The Origins of LNOA and the Admiral's Log

From an email just in from Peter Rossi:

I originally founded the LNOA in about 1992 and published a quarterly newsletter for about 5-6 years. I have the database of all owners for the VTs and the 35s and the 41s. Probably very outdated. I am willing to share as you wish. Also I have the newsletters. I sold my 41 about 2000 in Charleston, SC. Worse decision I made. Perhaps you could mention me in the current newletter. I live on a Grand Banks 42 at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor in Waikiki.

Here's what Vol. 1, No. 1 looked like.  When we get them from Peter all the issues will be made available on LNOA.org

Lord Nelson Owners Association

An old name, a new meaning.                                                         by Sally Seymour

Back home, among the LNVT documents, there are three newsletters from the LNOA (Lord Nelson Owners' Association) formed in the early nineties. These letters talk about tugs and sailboats. But apparently, the idea didn't take hold and the publication died. Coincidentally, I think this was around the time that Tom Blackwood started assembling a list of owners of LNVTs. It's interesting to see how the lists grew.  Imagine how the efforts and enthusiasm grew as more and more people joined the search to locate boats and collect names.

Some of us have talked about the idea of expanding our group of tuggers to include Lord Nelson sailboat owners. We seem to have a lot in common. We are an active cohesive group of enthusiasts. They would benefit from the organization. I think we should make it happen. The first step might be to compile a list of sailboat owners. Put out the call to our group and those known sailboat owners. We need someone to take this on. I'm not sure I should add it to my projects, but I'd love to see it happen.

This idea surfaced today as we saw a Lord Nelson 41 in Rockland, Me. They waved madly; we waved back and headed over. We knew we had hit the jackpot when were were close enough to read the name of their boat: Lady Nelson.

Lady Nelson was built in 1987 for Loren and Lani Hart. It is hull #54 of the 41s.

We went aboard and talked for an hour and agreed it would be great to create a Lord Nelson family. They were eager to learn about Lord Nelson boats. I showed them the meaning of the HIN. They know of another 41, "Le Garage", for sale by the owner, an 80 year old man who keeps it in Pemaquid. It's a start. 

Owners Betty Minson and husband Bob Catlow are live-aboards. They are the third owners.

Bob and Betty want to join our association. How could I refuse? Possible? I'll pay their first dues.